Major Electrical Problem? Sea Ray 175

tvspot

New Member
Oct 25, 2008
2
Hi, wondering if anyone can help me out. First time posting to this forum.

I have a 1996 Searay 175 18ft bowrider. Mercrusier 135 inboard / outboard.

Outboard trim works, it will go up and down. However, the lights, horn (which was intermittent anyways) blower, radio will will not turn on and most importantly, the engine will not crank. When we first tried to start the boat last week, it tried to crank, but when I turned the key again, nothing happened at all. We thought the battery was dead, had it charged, the auto parts store said it would not take a charge, so we bought a brand new one. Installed it today, and still have no engine crank, no lights, blower, radio, etc but the outdrive will go up and down and the trim motor sounds strong, it seems to be getting plenty of power.

Does anyone have a clue what might be going on here?I checked the few fuses I could find, they seem ok. We replaced the starter about 6 months ago. Even if the starter was bad, that wouldn't explain the lack of lights, blower, radio, etc. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.
 
I have to state the obvious and you may have done this but, make sure the terminals you are hooking on the battery are clean, use emery cloth to clean all connections up thoroughly. You appear to have lots of battery so it has to be a connection or a bad ground. The only other possility I see is a fuse, you may have to check them again but be sure to use a 12 volt tester.
 
Go over ALL you electrical connections and make sure they are clean and tight.
 
Do you have a battery switch?
I'm wondering if you do, maybe someone wired the O/D direct instead of through the MBSS.
Also, does that motor have the 50A circuit breaker on it? Look for the red button say "50A" somewhere on the top of the engine?
 
You really need a voltmeter to help you out here. List of items to check:

Check voltage at battery to starter
There is a 90 amp fuse off starter that will blow if you have your key switch on while connecting your new battery
If you have a battery switch - check its setup.
Make sure your kill switch is not activated
Make sure throttle lever is in neutral
Check voltage at fuse block

Worse case - pull negative terminal off battery and hook up a test light from negative cable to negative terminal. IF light goes on then you have a short somewhere that is draining battery. Start pulling fuses until light goes out and that could be the culprit as well. Good luck.
 
Hi all, thanks for the great suggestions.

I just had my buddy /co-owner of the boat check the following things. (I am not living in the area anymore and trying to help him out)

Checked the 50a breaker on the engine, he said he could not push it in, presumably because it did not trip and is already in the correct position?

checked all the fuses in the dash with ohm volt meter, read good.

Kill switch is in correct position, throttle definitely in neutral.

He did not even have key in ignition while connecting battery, so hopefully did not blow starter fuse. (He is not too familiar with boats, so having trouble telling him how to test the starter and its fuse over the phone) But that fuse would only explain the boat not starting, not the lack of lights, blower, horn and radio anyways, right?

Not sure if there is another fuse block somewhere besides the fuses above the power switches on the dash. Anyone know where I can tell him to look?

The Battery is new, all terminals clean, connections every place he can find are tight. There is no battery switch in this boat, one battery only. It is fully charged, had a battery tender on it to be sure.

The only thing we can get to function, power wise, on the boat is the outdrive will go up and down with no problem. This boat was fully operational two weeks ago, no signs of any power issues.

I really appreciate everyone's help. It is tough being almost 500 miles away, trying to help my buddy who is not too familiar with boats. If anyone has any other ideas, please post, I am baffled here! Thanks again!
 
I blew the large fuse at the starter on my 180 and had the same symptoms. Check it again with a meter or test light. If you boat is equipped, it will look like a small box that goes onto one of the studs near the solenoid.
 
You have a bad connection in the power to your helm somewhere, and it will be a connection common to both those accessories and the ignition switch. I would check the +12V and ground to the main DC fuse/breaker/distribution panel somewhere near the helm. I'm sure you will find the bad connection there.
 
Would love to know how this problem was fixed bc I have exact same thing in my 2006 195 sport. Battery went dead after a week of non- use at beginning of season. When new battery put in, trim works but all other electronics are non responsive including ignition. Checked all terminal connections and fuses. Don't know where to look for the 90amp starter fuse...need my baby running for the weekend!!! Thanks for any help.
 

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